Health Without the Middlemen
Swaraj Banerjee@swaraj
+3.8%
since Oct 9
The idea
I believe people are paying more out of pocket for health as employers push cheaper plans, and that AI is taking over advice and diagnosis while apps come and go. Instead of picking a winning app, I own what no app can replicate: the national lab and imaging networks those apps plug into, the equipment behind every test, direct to patient drugmakers, and the sensor makers feeding data to whichever front end wins. It's spread across all four pieces with a small cash buffer, built to hold for years rather than trade on any single quarter.
What it owns
- Health apps and AI systems need physical locations to draw blood and run scans, and these companies own the lab and imaging networks that process those tests. · Quest DiagnosticsOperates lab networks across the country that health apps and AI platforms plug into for blood draws and test processing., Labcorp HoldingsRuns the other major national lab network that processes tests ordered by apps and consumers, as long as that work keeps growing., RadNetOperates imaging centers where full-body scans ordered through health apps are performed, since AI cannot run an MRI.29%
- Drugmakers are increasingly selling medications straight to patients for cash, bypassing insurance, as AI systems write more prescriptions that need to be filled. · Eli LillyFocuses on selling GLP-1 drugs directly to patients paying cash outside insurance, the model this take anticipates as AI prescribing grows., Novo NordiskSells Wegovy and Ozempic directly to patients paying cash, competing in the GLP-1 market that consumers access without insurance., CVS HealthFills prescriptions including those AI systems write, though it also owns an insurer, so it fits only if pharmacy gains outweigh insurer losses., PfizerProvides medications that AI systems increasingly recommend, as long as it builds direct-to-consumer sales channels rather than remaining insurer-dependent.24%
- Glucose monitors and wearables generate the daily data that powers AI health advice, and people buy them directly without using insurance. · Abbott LaboratoriesMakes FreeStyle Libre glucose sensors sold directly to consumers and connects to health apps, plus supplies diagnostics to labs., DexcomMakes continuous glucose monitors that people buy without a prescription and that feed data into whatever app or AI they choose., GarminMakes watches that track health metrics like heart rate and sleep, data that AI tools can read, without depending on any single app winner.20%
- More consumer testing creates demand for the tubes, analyzers, sequencers and imaging machines that process those tests, regardless of who orders them. · Thermo Fisher ScientificSupplies the reagents, instruments and consumables that labs use to run tests, from both traditional insurance channels and direct-to-consumer orders., DanaherMakes the lab analyzers and test kits that process samples, and supplies the machines that more testing volume would require., GE HealthCare TechnologiesBuilds the MRI and CT scanners that imaging centers buy, so more direct-pay scans means more demand for equipment., Becton, Dickinson and CompanyMakes the needles and tubes for blood draws used by labs and direct-to-consumer testing, so rising test volume drives its collection supplies., IlluminaMakes sequencing machines that run most genetic tests, the deepest personal health data that apps and AI systems can access.20%
- Cash7%